I tend to read more science fiction than fantasy, but The Blue Sword is a good example of why I love fantasy too. There’s just a timelessness to a fantasy novel that science fiction can’t really lay claim to. Fiction about the future always has so much of the present embedded in it, but there’s nothing about The Blue Sword that lets you know it was written 30 years ago. The Hero and the Crown is the prequel to this book, but I think I’m glad I read them in internal chronological order rather than publication order.

In The Blue Sword a young woman named Harry who’s living the colonizer’s life in a land far from her home. She’s kidnapped and made a part of the Hillfolk who are trying to eke out an existence while being besieged by not-quite-human magical Northmen and her own people. She becomes the bearer of the titular sword and becomes a legend herself. There’s a sense of inevitability to the story (in a way that George RR Martin would destabilize at every turn if he were writing it) but it’s very beautifully done. It’s not Le Guin-level amazing, and I don’t think it’s as good as The Hero and the Crown, but Harry is a heroine that you can see being emulated in stuff like The Girl of Fire and Thorns and other more contemporary fantasy. I will gladly recommend it far and wide.

I discovered Robin McKinley as a young adult, but haven't ready anything of hers in awhile. This was on the YF recently returned shelf and it did not disappoint. A worthy heroine, who is fierce, funny, humble, and kind; it was an adventure to follow her to the hills. Throw in an old school love story and I loved it!

This book was fantastic! I loved the story line and the characters. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but not in a bad way. She was building up the setting and getting the reader used to where the characters live. And then there is a clash of two worlds in which the setting is completely changed. She is such a great writer - I am reading through all her books right now and am enjoying every one.

Our awkward young heroine Harry Crewe is swept into the magical yet realistic world of a nomadic, horse-breeding, desert-dwelling people in the land of Damar. Engaging adventures and memorable characters make this one of my favorite fantasy reads.

A strong heroine, a plot full of adventure, and an interesting world as the setting define this award winning story. My only wish was that it was longer, paced slower, and that the author took more time to describe the things happening.